Seat-spring.



J. T. WILGOX.

SEAT SPRING.

APPLICATION FILED JUNB12,'1913. l I,084,9 l '2'. Patented Jan. 20, 1914.

- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.'

WITNEES ,A 4 APPLIQATION FILED JUNE l2, 1915. 1,08%,9l i,

J. T. WILOOX. SEAT SPRING.

Patented Jan. 20, i915@ 2 SHEBTSASHBBT 2.

d @Mmm EMM-L if?. @meg/N ATTONEY UNITED sTATEs PAT orrroE.

`TOTIN T. wILcox, er PONTIAC, MICHIGAN, AssreNon .To OAKLAND MOTOR GAB COMPANY, or PONTIAC, MICHIGAN, .s oonronATIoN or MICHIGAN.

SEAT-SPRING.

Specification Of Letters Patent.

Application led June 12, 1913. Serial No. 773,334.

To all whom 'it may concern.`

citizen of the United States, residing at Pontiac, county of Oakland, State of Michlgan, have invented a certain` new and use- 'ful Improvement in Seat-Springs, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the arttowhich it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specication.

This invention vrelates to vehicle seat springs and has for its object spring structure which in its entirety forms an eiicient and durable seat for yieldingly supporting people. The superior efficiency is due to a peculiar method of tightening the helical,l

springs together at their free ends. The peculiar durability is due to the method of attaching the band springs which form the supporters of the upholstering at the edges. Still another feature of my invention is the means by which the helical springs are held to the stationary frame of the spring structure.

tary plan view of the spring structure. Fig 2, is a vertical cross section. 3, 1s an enlarged detail of the cross wires in at-l tached relation 'with the upper coils of the helical springs. Fig. 4.-, is a detail of oneof the rear helical springs and parts of the movable and stationary frames, showing the hinging action of the band spring. Fig. 5, is a detail ,of one of the helical springs showing how it is attached at one end.

The spring structure comprises Vessentially two frames, the lower frame a and the upper frame b. To avoid relative terms the upper frame will be designated as the movable frame and the lower frame will Vbe designated as the stationary frame. The stationof the'channel strip.' This causes the end wires. In the drawings: Figure i, is a fragmenframe a is a rectangular wooden frame.A

l I. coils of the helical springs to bent to a Be it known that I, JOHN T. WILCOX, al

sort ot' J shape when viewed sidewise, as shown in Fig. 5,- so that they cannot shift sidewise i'n the channel strip in case the end coil does not vexactly ht the interior of the vchannel strip. lengthwise movement in the channel strip is prevented by the turnedover edges or lips (Z. The result is that by this simple arrangement the spring is se- -curely located att-he point desired. The ease with which the springs may bea-ttached to the stationary frame is one feature of this method as Well as the security.

' lThe helical springs f support -on their free ends (that is the movable ends) the movable frame b; rll-his movable fra-me comprises a border member, which is preferably constructed of stili wire g. The adjacent end coils of :the helical springs are connected with the border wire by the aid of cross wires which exist in two sets that run at right angles to each other. One set, for the purpose of clearness, will be designated the Stringer wires or Stringer members and the other set will be designated the interlocking The cross wires lzy are interlocking wires and the :lengthwise wires c' are the Stringer wires 0r strul ger members. The Stringer wires or Stringer members-z' are coi-led abou., of the frame and extend 'to the opposite side over the en d coils of the helical springs. They are fastened to the opposite side of 'the frame by coilingaround the border wire.

The interlocking wires are similarly coiled about the border vwire g and extend to the opposite side of the frame where they are again coiled about the border wire to fasten them thereto. but instead of lying across the top of the helical springs, the lwire rst passesv across the free-end coil of the helical spring (Fig. 3) then passes under this coil, thence over the Stringer l PatentedJan.20,1914.

member i'. 'thence again'under the free-end Y coil and thence over the same and continues on to the next helical spring. This forms a very secure attachment for the helical springs at their free ends; for, if one of the helical springs is subjected to a compression strain, the wires will draw together with more tightness in much the same fashion that some knots will' when a pulling effort is exercised on the line. This is considered an improvement over the different forms of attachmnt-'that have heretofore-been used,

` tween the spring directly subjected to strain and its neighbors. is quite important in seat spring structure. lilith the seat-springs it advantageous to have some of the strain communicated and taken by adjacent springs, as the yielding action must be stiffer in order to support jthe weight of the occupants. 'Io this end I have designedv this seit-tightening interlock so that tight draiit ineiiililers will draw on the neighboring springs when one spring is subjected to compression. Not the least feature of this *forni of tight interlock is its simplicity, it being merely a weaving together of the cross members that form the support for the upholstering. Coperating with these cross members and supporting the. upholstering ol the seat are a plurality of band springs j which are constructed ot clock, spring steel. These ,not only prevent 'the iipholstering from protruding through the movable spring' frame, but also act as edge springs .to give a yieldability'to the upholstering at the edge oithe seat and yet. I prevent it being forced between, the movable and the stationary trame. @ne end of the band spring j is nailed to the wooden har of the stationary frame a by the saine nail 7c 'which attaches the channel strip c. The band spring bows out. as shown in Fig. 2 and then crosses the movable frame by going over the border wire CZ and under the Stringer members n. The otlierend of the band spring is connected with the border wire g at the opposite side ot the movable rameby means of a two-way hinging device7 which comprises a clip Z that is riveted to the end oi? the band springn as shown in Fig. l. his allows the band spring to move on the rivet. in relation to the clip as shown by the upper -fragmentary band spring of Fig. l, and, in view of the clip engaging loosely about the border wire g, it allows the band spring to move in a vertical plane, as shown in Fig. 4. rlhis double hinging action provides Jfor all movements of the band spring relatively to the stilf` part of the movable trame without resulting in any torsional or tensile strains that woul tend to tear the parts. i l I ain aware `that band springs have lbeen 'rios-abi? used in connection with spring structuresl for edge supports, but I do not believe that they have ever been connected with the rigid portion of the movable frame in the manner that I propose, to avoid the t-orsional and tensile strains already alluded to. The avoidanceof these strains is not the only advantage of my method of attachment, but. it gives a larger flexibility to the spring than would be secured by merely soiling the band sprin about the stiff border wire in the fashion that has been done in the past.

lllhat I claim is l. A spring construction', having in lcombination7 a stationary frame, a movable traine, helical springs connecting the two frames and band springs attached to the stationary frame bowed out at the edge of the spring structure, thence crossing the movable frame and slidably attached thereto and having a 'hingmg' connection withthe opposite side of the movable frame, substantially'as described.

A spring construction, having in combination, a stationary frame, a movable frame, helical springs connecting the two trames and band springs attached to the stationary frame, bowed out at the edge of the spring structure, crossing the movable traine and slidably attached thereto and having a two-way hinging connection with the opposite side of the movable frame, substantially as described.

3. A spring construction, having in combination, a stationary traine, a. movable Jframe provided with a stiff border wire, helical springs connecting the two frames, band springs att-ached to the stationary trama-bowed out at one of the edges of the spring structure, thence crossing the stationary frame and slidably attached thereto and clips rotatably engaging about the stiff border wire of the movable frame and loosely riveted to the adjacent ends of the band springs by rivets parallel with the axis of the helical springs to give the band springs a two-way hinging movement with respect tothe border wire, substantially as described.

In testimonylwhereof, I sign this specication in. the presence of two witnesses.

.ioinv r. wniooit. 

